_________________When he is questioned he resorts to evasive statements and wriggles like an eel: “If you ask me whether this is another world; if I thought so, I would say there is another world. But I don’t say so. And I don’t say otherwise. And I don’t say it is not, and I don’t not say it is not." ~Brahmajala Sutta

What was wrong with the article? Seemed like a pretty positive message to me. I'm glad that it didn't match the "it's okay to leave your spouse if s/he leaves the church" vibe that I get from some Mormons.

The anonymous author mentions times when her husband did things for her not because he wanted to but because she expected him to. To me that sounds like she is attempting to point out that he didn't ever have a strong testimony, a point members like to use for those who become unbelievers. The reasons for a person to become unbelieving are still not addressed, and never will be.

The unbeliever will always be the one who has destroyed the expectations of a celestial marriage and the believer will always be the one who was wronged and that is taught by the loving leaders of the church. The believer will always be the one making all the sacrifices to love their spouse, the efforts of the unbeliever will not be considered.

In spite of this woman's sincere love for her husband, her first love and loyalty are still to the church. Believing that temple marriage in the COJCOLDS is the only way for a marriage to be happy, fulfilling, successful, and valid comes from the church, not from any god or Jesus. All good things would still exist without the COJCOLDS.

And:

Quote:

I'm not impressed.

It's still the same old passive-aggressive one-sided triteness that mormonism is made of.

It's still prejudiced, and still assumes that the believer is right, and the unbeliever is wrong and petty.

I find it patronizing, and as usual there are many loose ends and global implications it ignores.

The author expresses sheer selfishness and petty self-serving ends, NOT AT ANY TIME DOES SHE LEND ANY CONSIDERATION TO THE OPPOSING PERSPECTIVE. She is unsympathetic, not discussing any reason WHY her husband "stopped believing" other than the trite and wholly un-explanatory "exercising his agency".

This article does nothing to move the church toward a truly pluralistic paradigm. It talks about the unbeliever like a car that has run out of gas...still good-for-something but not going anywhere until it gets more gas. The article is just about being a good sport about it.

I see the article as a major plus: It announces to Church members that the loss of the spouses belief in the Church is no reason to abandon the marriage. Instead, it offers the solution to strengthen all other remaining bonds with the non-believing spouse.

We have read too many times of how marriages are broken up over such a change. This article offers a broader and more humanistic view. Hopefully caring bishops will point the worried spouse to this article or even read it to them.

The anonymous author mentions times when her husband did things for her not because he wanted to but because she expected him to. To me that sounds like she is attempting to point out that he didn't ever have a strong testimony, a point members like to use for those who become unbelievers. The reasons for a person to become unbelieving are still not addressed, and never will be.

The unbeliever will always be the one who has destroyed the expectations of a celestial marriage and the believer will always be the one who was wronged and that is taught by the loving leaders of the church. The believer will always be the one making all the sacrifices to love their spouse, the efforts of the unbeliever will not be considered.

In spite of this woman's sincere love for her husband, her first love and loyalty are still to the church. Believing that temple marriage in the COJCOLDS is the only way for a marriage to be happy, fulfilling, successful, and valid comes from the church, not from any god or Jesus. All good things would still exist without the COJCOLDS.

And:

Quote:

I'm not impressed.

It's still the same old passive-aggressive one-sided triteness that mormonism is made of.

It's still prejudiced, and still assumes that the believer is right, and the unbeliever is wrong and petty.

I find it patronizing, and as usual there are many loose ends and global implications it ignores.

The author expresses sheer selfishness and petty self-serving ends, NOT AT ANY TIME DOES SHE LEND ANY CONSIDERATION TO THE OPPOSING PERSPECTIVE. She is unsympathetic, not discussing any reason WHY her husband "stopped believing" other than the trite and wholly un-explanatory "exercising his agency".

This article does nothing to move the church toward a truly pluralistic paradigm. It talks about the unbeliever like a car that has run out of gas...still good-for-something but not going anywhere until it gets more gas. The article is just about being a good sport about it.

I see the article as a major plus: It announces to Church members that the loss of the spouses belief in the Church is no reason to abandon the marriage. Instead, it offers the solution to strengthen all other remaining bonds with the non-believing spouse.

Yes.And this is why I think it was not written by a "NAME WITHHELD" common member.This new policy should phase in low level. Next time it will be mentioned by one of the 70s, then comes a conference talk...

moksha wrote:

We have read too many times of how marriages are broken up over such a change. This article offers a broader and more humanistic view. Hopefully caring bishops will point the worried spouse to this article or even read it to them.

Hopefully the bishops get a pamphlet about it. They should be strenghtened to be able to do things.

I see this article as a positive step.

_________________- Whenever a poet or preacher, chief or wizard spouts gibberish, the human race spends centuries deciphering the message. - Umberto Eco - To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin. - Cardinal Bellarmine at the trial of Galilei

How?...Unless the almighty brethren vote to change the core doctrines to allow women to be married to atheists, this article is nothing more than lip service.

Edit to add: This article IS lip service.

"doctrine" (if such thing exists...) is one thing."policy" is another.

My wife has married to an atheist. And remained. No church leader objected.

Maybe, the faith of Hungarian members/leaders is not so strong...

Core doctrines should not be changed. It is good enough to say "we don't teach this".

_________________- Whenever a poet or preacher, chief or wizard spouts gibberish, the human race spends centuries deciphering the message. - Umberto Eco - To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin. - Cardinal Bellarmine at the trial of Galilei

While I have yet to read the article, I get a sense from reading on multiple message boards that people believe It is positive because it gives the believing spouse a little more clear understanding of what shouldn't be done (divorce).

Does the article reference an addiction to pornography or desire to sin as the source cause of apostasy? If they are not included in the article I could see this as another reason why some feel that this is a positive article.

While I have yet to read the article, I get a sense from reading on multiple message boards that people believe It is positive because it gives the believing spouse a little more clear understanding of what shouldn't be done (divorce).

Sure, but the wife in this story is miserable.

With many mormon wives being stay at home mommies, I wonder what the stance on tithing will be with a woman in this situation?

She does not earn any money, therefore pays no tithing.

How many apostate widows and their children can LDS Inc support with no tithes paid by these priesthoodless families?

With many mormon wives being stay at home mommies, I wonder what the stance on tithing will be with a woman in this situation?

She does not earn any money, therefore pays no tithing.

How many apostate widows and their children can LDS Inc support with no tithes paid by these priesthoodless families?

I have heard often on this and other message boards that the only thing the LDS church is interested in is the money it receives. This may very well be the case as it seems to be run more like a financial corporation than a religious establishment. But what monetary gain can the church expect to get if the marriage ends in divorce? As long as the marriage is intact the church has a greater chance of turning the apostate around and possibly pressure the man to paying back tithing that was owed. I know of a couple who could not pay tithing for a few years. When everything returned to steady income he began paying a little more than the usual 10 percent to get "Right with the church." So in my mind the article reflects a more common sense approach of how to handle a difference in belief.

The article is unwitting confirmation that the Church has a significant problem with dwindling priesthood numbers.

_________________“We look to not only the spiritual but also the temporal, and we believe that a person who is impoverished temporally cannot blossom spiritually.”Keith McMullin - Counsellor in Presiding Bishopric

Unless the almighty brethren vote to change the core doctrines to allow women to be married to atheists, this article is nothing more than lip service.

Polygamy-Porter, which core doctrines say anything at all about a woman married to an atheist?

If the woman in the article spends her life trying to live by God's guidance, then she will make it into the Celestial Kingdom regardless of who she's married to in this life. If her husband regains his testimony, then her marriage to him will be eternal; if he doesn't, and therefore ends up not making the Celestial Kingdom himself, then she'll be married to someone else in the eternities. That's how I've always understood how it's going to work.